


Scales

by Metalife



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - K/DA (League of Legends), Dragon Riders, F/F, Rating May Change, fantasy medieval, probably going to be poly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24037159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metalife/pseuds/Metalife
Summary: Dragons have been gone from Valoran for centuries.Now they're back.Time to find out what happens next.
Relationships: Ahri/Akali (League of Legends), Ahri/Akali/Evelynn/Kai'Sa (League of Legends), Ahri/Evelynn (League of Legends), Ahri/Kai'Sa (League of Legends), Akali/Evelynn (League of Legends), Akali/Kai'Sa (League of Legends), Evelynn/Kai'Sa (League of Legends)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 51





	Scales

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted a dragon riders AU of KDA.
> 
> So I made one.
> 
> Please enjoy.

The further she walked into the forest, the louder the crunch of dead leaves under her boots became to her ears. No birds tweeting in the crisp autumn afternoon, no bugs chirping amongst the tall pines surrounding her. Surely, an ominous silence that would be pressing on any person who didn’t have a reason to be out here. Instead, she hefted a sack off of her, letting it thump onto the ground. 

“Oi!” The shout reached out through the still air as she cupped her hands around her mouth, earning no immediate response. That was no dissuasion as she wheeled around, still calling out. “Big and scaly! Where are you?”

A crack of wood behind her, and she turned one more time to feel the breath of the dragon rush out around her. 

Like a giant snake, a loop of its red body was wound around one of the trees, long thick claws carving into it. Slit pupils stared her down as it pulled forward to face her, one of the warped horns on the back of its head brushing against the bark. Another puff of warm air flared out from its nostrils around her clothes and hair as it drew closer, enough to plainly see the fangs like blades barely hidden by the large twitching whiskers around its half open mouth. 

“There you are!” Instead of running for her life, Akali reached out to scratch the underside of its chin with both hands. An appreciative rumble rolled out as she got to work on the golden spot, lifting its head higher to give her better access. “Did you get bigger again while I was in town? When are you going to stop growing, huh?” 

The dragon didn’t answer the question, eyes closing as it enjoyed the motions. As she ran her hands over the scales, a loose one popped off to land in the foliage below. The rumble ended on a disappointed note as she stopped, swiftly retrieving the scale. “Don’t be like that, Red. You know these pay for your treats. Speaking of,” 

The sack opened up, a shiny red apple pulled out to catch the dragon’s eye. Choosing not to let her hands get too close to those teeth, Akali tossed it up, letting him snap it out of midair. Excited for his favourite snack, his form unrolled from the tree. His tail lashed out as he did, slamming against a gnawed-on tree trunk. “Still don’t know how you can eat nothing but weird stuff like this.” She idly commented as another apple went sailing. Then again, everything had been weird since finding him as an egg.

At first, she had thought the cache she had found in a thieves’ camp had been some massive precious stone carved into the shape of an egg big enough to cradle in both arms. Certainly would have explained the massive bounty on catching them. Maybe if she hadn’t been that determined about making some money after setting out on her own, she would have questioned how much was being paid to bring them in. But she hadn’t. And that was how she wound up with that same stone breaking open in her arms to let out a squirming mess barely bigger than a cat and mewling like a kitten that latched onto her. And, though she wouldn’t admit it, straight onto her heart as well.

The thieves were turned in, and any pointed questions about the particulars of the spoils found were met with a shrug. They could have the rest of the things recovered from the site. But no way was she about to hand over a living _dragon_. Even if she had no idea of what even to feed one. So she hid him, and when curious words turned into strangers following her to the next village, she stowed away on the next boat heading out of the country. 

Learning how to raise him came through trial and error. Cow’s milk seemed to go down fine in the beginning until the teeth grew in. Despite all the old tales of raids on cattle and sheep, Red would only occasionally eat scraps of the meat offered to him. And then only if cooked. He ate so little that Akali grew worried that he wouldn’t survive as she tried to figure out what else she could tempt him with. It wasn’t until she lost track of him while camping until hearing a massive crunch that she found his appetite was for other kinds of food. Like, the log she had been using as a bench. 

Wood and stone turned out to be what he was needing, gnawing into them whenever he got the chance. And with that, his growth really took off. Sometimes it was hard to believe that he had been a wriggling bundle just big enough to wrap around her arm just several months ago. Now his back was as wide as a horse’s, and he was certainly longer. The see-through membrane between the twig thin bones that sprouted from his spine had thickened out. Now those wings weren’t just for show, though Red kept them folded in most of the time. 

“Good thing we got rid of those baby teeth.” Each one now replaced with the fangs snapping over another skyward fruit. “Shed scales are one thing to sell off, but too many questions came flying over those.” Especially from those wizard types whose fingers twitched at thinking of all the spells they could power from finding a whole dragon to harvest from. At least they hadn’t been smart enough to question her pointing them the direct opposite direction she would be next travelling after taking their gold. So far. 

Dragons might not be so rare now, but it had only been a few decades since they had started reappearing. Before that, all people had was folktales handed down for ages, older than any living person could say that they knew someone who had definitely seen one. 

The sack hung loose in Akali’s hands as the last apple disappeared into Red’s maw. Reaching down, he snuffled under her cloak for any more hidden away. 

“Hey, stop!” She had to drop the bag when he yanked it from her, whipping it around in his mouth to see if any more would magically pop out of it. When no more appeared, he drooped down with a disappointed whine. Akali couldn’t stifle a smile as she gave her big baby a pat. “You can only eat so much fruit before you get sick, you know that.” 

As he continued to whine, Akali dropped down by his side. Kicking out her feet, she leaned back into Red, grateful for the heat that radiated out from him. Too bad she couldn’t go back to town for the night. Not with that guy who kept asking things like, where did she normally go to find the items she was selling, and how she managed to find them so intact. She didn’t care how pleased his master Malzahar or whoever would be, there was only so much scrutiny she could take before knowing they had to leave. 

It wasn’t too hard for herself to just vanish away from prying eyes. That was what she had been trained to do after all. A couple of turns around the lanes between the stalls, doubling back once under a hood, and he’d lost her trail. A quick stop at a fruit and vegetable shop to make sure. Then on and back to Red with a dozen ideas about which route she should take to avoid contact on their way out.

Too bad Red wasn’t small enough to fit into her bag any more. Still, while he had learned to keep himself and his flashy red scales out of sight, it seemed word was getting around about a traveller who had a supposedly inexhaustible supply of particularly rare alchemy ingredients. Guess it was only a matter of time. 

“What are we going to do next, big guy?” She rubbed her hands through the dense fur around his neck as he curled up in a loose circle. 

They might be able to sleep now and then travel once it got dark, but for how long?

\-------------------------

Had it been the alert keening coming from Red or the smell of wood smoke that woke her up? All she knew is that it was dark now. 

“Shit.” One hand went for her waist, checking her weapons were where she had left them. The other reached out to hold onto Red. She could see flakes drifting overhead when she checked the moon. “What’s going on?”

The breeze was coming from the direction of the town.

“Shit.” Akali swore again. She hauled herself onto the dragon’s back, grabbing onto the ridge between the wings to keep steady. “Red, time to climb.”

The top of the pine started to bend under his weight as he perched high enough to get a good look across the forest. Akali leaned out to take in the bright orange blaze. 

Hours ago, it had been a place filled with light and people happily living out yet another day of their lives. Now the air rang out with screams and yells, the heat and smoke from buildings set alight choking the air. 

But it was not some accident that had set them ablaze. Insect-like monsters were running wild, chittering shrieks as they chased down those who tried to escape. 

A man, struggling for breath as he urged his daughters ahead of him, collapsed with an agonized shout. One of the monsters had pinned him by stabbing a spear of a limb into his leg. His cry for them to run was choked off as it pulled out of his calf, readying to strike again.

A blur of red slammed into it, the gust behind it fanning the flames higher for a moment. Akali hung on tight as Red reeled back from taking a mouthful of the creature. Black ichor was dripping from his jaws, and seeing the monster make a feeble attempt to move brought another bite. There was a final squeal as the goo it called blood sprayed out.

What the absolute hell. These weren’t any beasts that Akali had seen before. Checking over her shoulder, she could see some people had come to help the fallen man back up. But now they were just staring at her. 

“Go!” She shouted, tugging on Red to get him to turn. He snapped at a smaller one that had been making a bee-line for the people in the confusion. They finally seemed to come to their senses as it was torn apart, making good their chance to run. 

Working their way further into the town, trying to find more survivors amongst the chaos, Akali’s eyes stung from the smoke. Cloth wrapped around her mouth and nose kept it out of her lungs but that had been the most of her preparation for this. 

Unlike riding a horse, there was no saddle to make sure she stayed on, no reins to direct where to go. As he whipped around his tail to scatter a wave of the insects, she almost slipped right off. She could only hold on tight to his neck and breathe a sigh of relief when she could bring her feet back into position. 

There was a screech to her right as one of them managed to fling itself up at Akali, too fast for the dragon to reach in time. Her hand flicked to her waist. Steel zipped out to bury straight into the creature, dropping it like a stone.

Each time they brought down some of these enemies, even more would come to replace the fallen. Worse, now she could spot some turning away from their prey to focus on them. 

_Isn’t this what you wanted when you decided to play hero?_

She cursed that thought even if she knew it to be true. 

The timber frame of a stall was further smashed underfoot as they wound up in the town square. Red was huffing as they spun slowly, keeping an eye on the skittering masses that were crowding the streets around them. Just estimating the numbers piling up painted a stark picture. There was no way to take them all on and win.

But there was no need to find that out for sure. Akali tapped twice on his back to make Red unfurl his wings. There was a desperate shriek from some of the monsters who tried to make a make a mad dash before the force of Red pushing up into the air slammed it back. 

Stalling might have been the most they could do here, but it was definitely a better idea than leaving the town to die without a chance. With Akali’s arms holding onto the dragon’s neck for dear life, she could barely spot those who had managed to make it out fleeing down the road. Fates willing, those creatures would just go back to destroying what remained. 

There was a zing of energy through the air as Red’s wings flared out to slow their ascent. The hair on the back of Akali’s neck stood on end as a purple glow came from behind. She could feel a chill crawl down her back as she couldn’t help but look. 

It should be impossible for the air itself to be torn apart. And yet here it was, a jagged line hanging in place. A sound like the echo of ice cracking accompanied it suddenly widening the purple void. Allowing enough room for the flying body that was hurtling out of it.

“Aw fuck.”

Was all she could manage before it slammed into her. 

Gravity tool hold fast as she tried to gain purchase on the slick shell encasing it. As they spun downwards, the beast leaned back. Just enough for her to spot two bright green eyes and a shining shell before it shot forward. 

An exoskeleton meeting skull was not a nice sensation on the brain. To follow it up with Akali’s back hitting stone pavers was icing on the pain cake. She groaned as she rolled onto her side, trying to reach for another kunai on her belt despite every muscle aching. They were all around, she had to get back on her feet to have a chance.

The creature from the void stabbed one arm into the ground next to her. Maybe she would have thought about calling it a praying mantis for its arms if it wasn’t now using that arm to press her further into the stone. The chittering of the rest grew louder as it leaned in. Drool leaked out from among rows of sharp teeth brought out by a snarl right in her face. Her fingers were on the handle of another blade but there was no guarantee it would come quicker than the jaws opened wider than her head.

And no guarantee that it would be enough.

“Gotcha!”

A flash overhead, and a screech of pain as it disappeared off of her. Blade arms squealed on stone as it slid into the rest of its pack. Only part of a defiant call rang out before another beam hit. Akali had only seconds to comprehend that she wasn’t about to die any more before a pair of hands were pulling her back up. 

“What are you doing here?” She must still be dazed from the fall, thinking that the girl with long amethyst hair and eyes to match holding her steady was the most beautiful person she had seen ever. Oh, and now she was smiling at her. Even better.

“Saving your butt, obviously.” 

Several more bursts of light from behind them scattered the bugs. With more threats and less easy targets, most of them took off through the rubble. Another rift, smaller than the other, provided a getaway for some. But not the praying mantis. 

It dodged a close one, jumping forward with blades ready to run them through.

Two massive sets of claws crushed it before it could get halfway. 

The large dragon, with skin so black that the only way to see it against the night sky as it hovered was to note the lack of stars. Where Red was long like a noodle, this one was broad, with wings that spanned over roofs as it came down. The shattered corpse was discarded to the side as all paws landed, the weight behind them felt across the ground. 

“We flew all the way here just for a single Voidborn?” Something, or someone, slipped off of it as the dragon turned to inspect the kill. “Please tell me there’s more.”

“Guess we missed the show, Eve.” That was met with an annoyed sigh as the figure got close enough for Akali to get a good look. A direct opposite to the dragon’s seemingly endless void, the woman’s eyes positively glowed gold. Magenta hair flowed down over a black coat, the edges of it covered in either fur or feathers. Akali was not in any state to really differentiate which one. 

“What’s the point of being a wrathful demon if there’s nothing to be wrathful on?” She kicked a cooling piece of rubble away with a well-heeled boot. 

Akali heard a warning growl from Red start, creeping up from behind. 

“Steady boy. It’s ‘kay.” The growl ended on a questioning note. 

“Oh, hey.” The girl holding her gave her a slight jostle to catch her attention. “Soooo… we’re gonna need you to come back with us.”

“What? Why?” And the other important question. “Where?”

“I could explain, but…” A piece of timber fell off a roof, a gush of fire rising up after it. “…This isn’t really the place for it.”

“No, hold on.” She tried to stagger back. “Just who are you?” Red’s growl started again. The helper looked pointedly to her friend.

“Eve, a little help here?” 

“Fine.” She was now a lot closer than Akali remembered her being a moment ago. “Take a breath, sweetheart.”

Before she could question the instruction, her world shimmered as a cold hand pressed against her neck. Then she was falling all over again, into warm darkness.


End file.
